Glendale City Manager Ed Beasley: Tenure coming to end

Glendale manager brought big change, debt

Glendale City Manager Ed Beasley told employees on Friday that he plans to retire in 2012, but whether that will be at the end of next month or several months out is unclear.

Beasley on Monday had not given council members a departure date, only saying he would stay until some internal projects are completed.

Council members had yet to discuss the departure of the city's top administrator, or how they will go about finding his replacement.

Beasley, who has spent much of his career protecting a low profile, declined comment on Monday.

Beasley's retirement at 53 comes after an ambitious career. The former law student at 29 became the youngest and only Black city manager in Arizona in 1988 when he led the small city of Eloy, between Phoenix and Tucson.

Beasley arrived in Glendale 17 years ago and was named city manager in 2002. Council appointed him to the top post as the city embarked on a bold journey to remold itself from bedroom community to sports mecca.

He has been the city's chief deal-maker as he carried forth the council's vision; the typically reticent administrator lighting up when he talked about the next big deal to move Glendale forward.

The city capitalized on its newly crafted image as a sports destination until the recession hit. The deals that shined bright in a robust economy caused critics to question the debt Glendale incurred as it rapidly transformed itself.

A decade ago, Mayor Elaine Scruggs spoke with an attorney in passing who asked if Glendale would be interested in being the home of the Phoenix Coyotes. Beasley, then an assistant city manager, became the key negotiator who brought the National Hockey League to Glendale at a city-owned arena. As part of the deal, a private developer built Westgate City Center.

Council appointed Beasley city manager a year later.

That same year, he helped the city snag the NFL stadium and six years later, host the Super Bowl. When critics doubted Glendale's ability to host such mega events, the city manager exuded confidence and assembled a team to make it happen.

Beasley, with support from council, kept going.

In fall 2008, the city borrowed $200 million to open a spring-training ballpark for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox.

Despite the crisis crippling financial markets in late 2008, Glendale leaders and Valley sports chieftain Jerry Colangelo announced that USA Basketball would move to the city.

Beasley and council relied heavily on private developers to make the deals pencil out. Right Path Limited Development Group was going to build much of the basketball facility, as well as shops, restaurants and offices to generate revenue to pay for the ballpark. The plan was to march commercial development west of Loop 101.

By 2009, the economy brought a reality check.

The Phoenix Coyotes filed for bankruptcy.

A year later, Rightpath's partners split up and the remaining developers could never obtain financing. In 2010, USA Basketball pulled its plans to move to Glendale. None of the planned commercial development west of the freeway has materialized.

Offices and entertainment options did sprout around the arena, including Cabela's and 91 Glendale, which brought Humana operations to the city. But other projects sit vacant or unbuilt and Westgate this year was taken over by lenders.

Beasley continues to try to secure a new buyer who will keep the Phoenix Coyotes as an anchor tenant in the city-owned arena. Councilwoman Joyce Clark has said she expects the deal to be inked by January, before Beasley departs.

Clark, Vice Mayor Steve Frate and other council members commended Beasley's leadership.

"He saw the big picture for what Glendale could be and if it hadn't been for the bad economic times there would even be more successes," Councilwoman Yvonne Knaack said.